Shakespeare used these words in the play Hamlet: “To be or not to be? That is the question.” But in NASCAR, a more precise racing-related question might be, “More road courses or fewer road courses? That is the question.”
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This weekend at Sonoma Raceway will mark the third road or street course race in the last five races, with two more slated for later in the season, including one in Round 2 of the Cup playoffs.
Overall, there will have been six road/street course races run by the end of the season. This is, in other words, one-sixth of the 36-race schedule. Some fans think that’s not enough, while others think the opposite.
Among the NASCAR notables who tend to lean toward wanting fewer are Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski. And for good reason, if you look at their stats: they were not very good racers on non-oval tracks.
Dale Jr. was 0-for-35 at road courses in his Hall of Fame career. That mark included just three combined top-five finishes, with two at Watkins Glen and one at Sonoma.
Earnhardt Jr. took to social media with a GIF of wrestler/actor John Cena that said, “You are absolutely correct,” to agree with the idea that there are too many road course races on the Cup schedule.
As for Keselowski, he’s even worse on road/street courses at 0-for-51 starts in his Cup career, with just seven top-five finishes, including three runner-up showings at Watkins Glen.
“Yes, too many road courses in NASCAR,” Keselowski tweeted, while also concerned that the sport may make it seven road/street course events next season.
When did two become too few?
A decade ago, fans begged and pleaded with NASCAR to increase the number of road courses on the Cup schedule. At that point, and for decades before, the only two road course events on the schedule were held at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International.
This year, road/street races will be held at Circuit of the Americas, Mexico City, Chicago, Sonoma, Watkins Glen and the Roval at Charlotte.
Will there be six road/street races again next year? Or, as Keselowski worries, will it increase to seven? And if the latter, where else? Questions that would surely befuddle Hamlet if he were in NASCAR today.
